The Best Mistake
by kerrbear726
Summary: Martin and Ruthie reunited, but will mistakes from the past get in the way of their future?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I, unfortunately, own nothing 7th Heaven except my own ideas…a few of which I would like to see on the show. (Especially Martin and Ruthie…together!)

The kiss was soft and sensual, full of passion just waiting to burst forth. He swallowed hard when it ended, sure that he must be dreaming. But there she was, like an angel, before him, lips parted slightly, silently begging him for more. Taking her beautiful face into his strong hands, he brought his mouth down upon hers once more. He buried his hands amidst the mass of dark curls surrounding her head, and deepened the kiss, letting his mouth tell her how much he cared…

"GOOD MORNING! GET YOUR ASS OUTTA BED AND START PACKIN'! WE'RE OFF TO GLEN OAK!" came a loud voice, interrupting Martin's dream.

Martin rolled over, covering his head with a pillow, as his roommate and soon-to-be ex-best friend pulled open the dark curtains, letting sunlight into the dark room. Martin gave a groan. He would have shared a few choice words with Mac, but instead, prayed to the Lord for mercy and strength.

"How many times do I have to tell you, I'm not going to Glen Oak!" Martin mumbled from under his pillow.

Mac paid no attention to his grumpy friend while he threw open the closet doors and started heaving clothes left and right. Martin peeked out from under his blankets and saw his crazy friend tossing shirts and pants everywhere.

"What are you doing?" he yelled, sitting up.

Mac stopped his task and turned to look at his disheveled friend. "I'm helping you pack."

"I'm not going."

"You're just saying that. You have to put up a fight to save face. I get it. But you are going," Mac announced. "You can't not go to your best friend's wedding."

"You are my best friend and no girl in her right mind would marry you."

Mac threw a sweater at his friend. "I'll pretend like you didn't just insult me that way. I'm talking about Sandy. She'd be devastated if you missed her wedding."

Martin sighed. What Mac said was true. Sandy would be crushed if Martin wasn't there. "Sandy will get over it. I'm not going."

Martin got out of bed and stretched. He grabbed a towel, turning to head for the shower, when Mac stopped him. "You have to face Ruthie sometime."

Martin froze. Just the mention of her name did that to him. He turned slowly. "This has nothing to do with Ruthie."

Mac raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Really? Then, enlighten me. What's the real reason you don't want to return to Glen Oak?"

Martin shook his head. "It's a part of my past that I'd just as soon like to forget." With those words, Martin walked off.

Ruthie stood back and held her breath, pointing to the mirror. "Go ahead and have a look. Be honest."

Taking a deep breath, Sandy stepped in front of the long mirror. Tears sprang to her eyes instantly as she saw her reflection. "It's absolutely perfect, Ruthie. Thank you!"

Ruthie's smile grew and her shoulders relaxed now that she knew for sure that Sandy loved the dress. To say she had been nervous was an understatement.

"I'm glad that you like it," Ruthie whispered, fluffing the back of the skirt just a bit.

"Simon said that you were talented, but I really had no idea. I love it, Ruthie. I really love it!" Sandy said giving the dress a twirl of satisfaction. She stopped and looked at Ruthie, tears still filling her eyes. "Simon will love it too."

When Sandy had left, Ruthie busied herself putting away samples of material and strands of thread. The whole time she was smiling, thinking of Sandy's approval. It was important that her new sister-in-law be happy on her special day, especially after everything Sandy and Simon had gone through to get here.

The phone rang, shocking Ruthie out of her happy daze and back into reality. "Hello?"

"Hey there!" came the deeply masculine voice. "Miss me?"

Ruthie smiled. "It's been about three hours, silly. Not nearly enough time for me to miss you."

Jack pouted. "I'm crying inside over that one, you know? I just wanted to call and see how things went with Sandy. Did she like the dress?"

Ruthie's smile widened. "She loved it and she said that Simon would love it too. I'm telling you, this is the greatest day."

"Can I make it better?" Jack asked slyly. Ruthie said nothing, so he continued on. "I booked our honeymoon today."

Ruthie dropped the pair of scissors she was holding, just narrowly missing her baby toe. "You what?"

"I called the travel agent and booked our honeymoon. What do you think of Hawaii?" he asked.

"I think that Hawaii sounds wonderful, but don't you have to get married before you can have a honeymoon? We haven't even set a date yet!" Ruthie exclaimed.

Jack snapped his fingers, gaining the attention of his secretary and handed her a file. He twirled his seat around until his back was to the door and he was looking out over Glen Oak. "I figured this little venture would force you into setting a date for our wedding instead of focusing all of your time on Simon's."

Ruthie sighed. "Simon and Sandy deserve a perfect wedding."

"And so do we. Come on, Ruth. We've been engaged for almost two years now and we're still no closer to the altar then we were back then. So the honeymoon is booked for next August. We have until then to get married."

Ruthie knew that Jack wasn't meaning to pressure her, but she still felt that way. Ruthie wasn't sure why it was taking her so long to come up with a solid date for her wedding to Jack. Money wasn't an issue. Jack was quickly moving up the ladder at his accounting firm and Ruthie's fashion design business was steadily taking off, more orders coming in by the day. Age wasn't a problem, since both were young, but well on their way to stability. So what was the issue?

"Ruth?" Jack asked. "You mad at me?"

Ruthie tried to smile, but her good mood was ruined. "Not mad, just surprised."

"It's time to make a decision, Ruthie. You either want to marry me or you don't."


	2. Slim to None

Martin walked into his room after having an overly long shower. He froze in the doorway. A large, black duffle bag was sitting in the middle of his unmade bed, clothes hanging out of it.

"Mac?" Martin yelled, walking into the kitchen. "What are you doing?"

Mac spooned a mouthful of cereal into his waiting mouth and smiled at Martin. Taking an extra long time to chew and swallow, he noticed the annoyance on his friend's face. "Something wrong?"

"I'm not going," Martin repeated. "You think packing a bag for me makes any difference?"

"No, but I bet having to tell Sandy that her wedding isn't important enough for you to attend will."

"Sandy will be so busy that day she won't even know that I'm not there."

Mac shrugged. "She's coming over."

"What?" Martin asked. "You called her?"

"You live two hours away from Glen Oak and yet you pretend like its on the other side of the world! You've avoided going there for almost six years, all because you've got some unresolved feelings for Ruthie. It's time to put all of that aside for the sake of your friend. Sandy wants you at her wedding," Mac said pointedly. "Don't disappoint her. She deserves her day."

Mac took his cereal bowl into his bedroom, shutting the door behind him. Martin knew Mac was just trying to help, but hearing Ruthie's name twice in the same morning was making him crazy.

He went back into his room, threw the duffle bag deep into the back of his closet, and changed into clothes for his morning run.

"Where's Lucy?" Ruthie asked barging through the door.

Kevin gave his sister-in-law an annoyed look and pointed at the blue bassinet. Ruthie cringed and mouthed 'sorry'.

Kevin walked into the kitchen and poured Ruthie a glass of iced tea. "Lucy's at the church, working on her sermon for the wedding. She's going crazy wanting everything to be just perfect."

"I know how she feels," muttered Ruthie. "Where's Savannah?"

Kevin rolled his eyes. "Your mother took her shopping for a new dress. This wedding is making everyone crazy."

Ruthie smiled warmly at Kevin. His tiredness was showing. Since the birth of their second child, Dylan, he'd been feeling the itch get his old life back. Savannah had been in school and Kevin was back working on the police force. Things had been well, until Lucy announced that she was pregnant. This caused a rift between the two, as Kevin had stayed home to raise Savannah, but was now deep into his new job and loving it again. Lucy, who had taken over as primary pastor after her father's retirement, knew that she wasn't in a good place to be leaving her parish for a year. In the end, Kevin had decided to take the parental leave instead of Lucy, but the stress of being back at home, was starting to get to Kevin.

"You want me to take Dylan for a few hours so you can get some rest?" Ruthie asked.

Kevin rolled his eyes. "Could you take him for a few days because I feel like I need at least a week of constant sleep before I'll be back to good."

Ruthie smiled and took a sip of her iced tea. Kevin eyed his sister. "So, what's up?"

Ruthie shrugged. "Not much."

"How's Jack?"

"Fine."

Kevin sighed. "I know that I'm not your sister, but I can be good for advice sometimes."

Ruthie rocked back and forth in her chair for a moment before sitting up straight. "Jack booked our honeymoon."

"You set a date!" Kevin cheered. "And I thought you'd never do it!"

"That's the thing. I didn't set a date. Jack called this morning to tell me that he booked our honeymoon, so now the ball's in my court. If I really want to marry him, I'll set a date and start planning our wedding. If I don't do this, then I don't really want to marry him and he'll leave me," Ruthie explained.

Kevin took a deep breath and went to the fridge. He brought out a small tub of ice cream and got two spoons. Handing one to Ruthie, he dug in. He shook his spoon at Ruthie and asked, "Do you love Jack?"

"You know that I do," Ruthie said honestly.

"So what's wrong with setting a wedding date?"

"I don't know, Kev. I've tried to figure this all out, but I can't. I keep coming up empty."

Kevin leaned back in his chair, savoring the chocolate brownie ice cream. "Is this about Martin?"

Only Kevin knew the whole truth about Ruthie and Martin. He had been the only one that Ruthie felt comfortable confiding in. "It's not about Martin."

"You're sure?" Kevin prodded. "Because it'd be okay if it was."

Ruthie put a large spoonful of ice cream into her mouth. "You think he's coming to the wedding?"

Martin was short on breath and sweating profusely when he got back to his apartment. He took hold of the doorknob and found it locked. Mac must have gone out. He fumbled around in his pocket until he found the key. Just as he was putting the key into the lock, the door flung open.

"Well if it isn't Mr. I'm-Not-Coming-To-My-Best-Friend's-Wedding!" Sandy shouted.

"Hey to you too," he greeted. "Is your visit business or pleasure?"

"Mac told me that you're refusing to come to the wedding?" Sandy asked, closing the door behind Martin as he entered. "Why?"

"It's got nothing to do with you. I just don't have an interest in returning to Glen Oak."

"Liar!" Sandy said, flopping onto his bed and pouting. "You're my best friend other than Simon and I want you there."

Martin poked her protruding bottom lip and smiled. "I have lots of work."

"Liar, liar, liar!"

Martin removed his sweatshirt and flung it into the hamper. His t-shirt clung to his well-muscled chest, but Sandy had become impervious to his physique; they were just friends.

"Don't make this an issue, Sandy," Martin sighed. "I'll be with you in spirit."

"Not good enough. I want you to give me away," she blurted. "I would like you to walk me down the aisle."

Martin froze, unable to believe that Sandy would ask him do have such a large part in her wedding. How was he supposed to turn her down now?

Sandy got up from the bed and faced her friend. "Please. It would mean everything to me."

Martin looked at the floor. "Fine."

Sandy jumped up and down in sheer delight. "Oh and wait until you see the dress that Ruthie designed for me. It's so…"

Sandy continued to go on and on about her dress, but after the word 'Ruthie' Martin heard nothing. His mind shifted back to a different time and place…

FLASHBACK

"That skirt's too short," he said, hard look upon his face.

Ruthie had spent all afternoon making the new skirt and was quite proud of her venture. In four short words, Martin had ruined it for her.

"You should change because I'm not driving you to school wearing that," Martin said flatly, leaning against the counter, arms crossed over his chest.

END OF FLASHBACK

Martin had made her cry that day. That was long before Sandy, long before Jack. Little had Martin known then that this young girl's tears would be shed over and over again all because of him.

"Martin?" Sandy asked, shaking him back into reality. "Have you been listening to a word I've said?"

"The dress is perfect. You love the dress. I got it," Martin said, annoyed.

"You missed the part about your fitting."

"My what?"

"Your tuxedo fitting. It's tomorrow morning. In Glen Oak. At the Camdens."

Martin gave Sandy a look that told her she was lucky it was her wedding or he'd make it her funeral. "I'm not going to that house."

"Simon will be there."

"I'm not going there; anywhere else but there. I've agreed to come to the wedding, but I will not step foot in that house again."

"Ruthie doesn't even live there anymore. She's had her own place for a while now," Sandy pointed out. "And unlike the other Camdens, she doesn't make it a practice to hang out there all of the time. The chances of you running into her will be slim to none."


	3. Reunion

Martin pulled up to the curb and looked over at the large house. He glanced across the street at his father's old place. Bill Brewer had long since moved away from Glen Oak, his 'work' taking him to Washington.

He focused his attention back to the Camden residence. Simon's car was parked in the driveway, the others were unrecognizable to Martin. _What if she's in there_, he asked himself. _How can I face her after all of these years?_

Mustering up all of the courage he could, Martin got out of the car and walked up to the front door. He rang the doorbell, feeling weird as he hadn't ever really done that. It was odd that the house he'd once called home felt unsafe to him now.

"Martin?" Annie Camden asked as she opened the door. She threw her arms around the tall young man and hugged him fully. "I'm so glad to see you! Come in and don't you ever ring that doorbell again!"

Annie was aging well, still fighting away the grays, probably with the help of some dye, but looking well none-the-less. As she led Martin through the house to the kitchen, he took note of some changes. Sam and David had new school pictures added to the wall. A small shrine to the late family dog, Happy, filled a small table in the hall. And they had painted. It all made Martin, only 24, feel old.

"Look who's here!" Annie announced, taking Martin's hand.

Martin spent a few minutes shaking hands with Eric, offering another congratulations to his friend, Simon, and just catching up.

"Matt and Kevin should be by shortly, then we can all go to the tailor's," Simon said.

"Matt's here?" Martin inquired.

Matt and Sarah, along with their two children, Gregory and Noah, had been off in Africa, doctoring at a clinic over there and, apparently, in no rush to come back.

"They all flew in late last night. They're staying in the garage apartment, but I thought I'd let him sleep for a bit since he's probably feeling a little jet-lagged."

Kevin walked through the door just then, handing Dylan off to Annie and shouting instructions to Savannah. He stopped when he saw Martin, not sure whether he should hug the young man or slug him.

"Martin," he said finally. "You look well."

Martin gave Kevin an odd look and offered a hand to him. The two shook, but Martin still thought there was something oddly unfriendly about Kevin.

When Matt walked in, eyes droopy from lack of sleep, the catch-ups began once again. Martin was eager to get out of this house and on to the tailor's. Every second that ticked by felt like an hour. Sweat began to bead on Martin's forehead, as his nervousness began to take over.

And then it happened. The back door swung open and in walked Ruthie. She froze. Martin froze. The two glared at each other. No one said a word. The tension in that room was so thick, you could have cut it with a knife.

"Ruthie! Look who's come home?" Annie announced with a smile.

Ruthie marched up to Martin and, without so much as a word, slapped him hard across his handsome cheekbone. With that, she turned on her heal and marched out the door.

"Tough greeting," Matt shrugged.

As everyone stood, curious, but not saying a word, Martin left through the same door as Ruthie, increasing his pace to catch up to her.

Ruthie was out on the street, just about to get into her car, when Martin came charging up, Ruthie's handprint still on his face.

"So that's it?" he asked angrily. "Six years and that's how you say hi? A slap to the face?"

"I could add a kick to the groin if that would help?" she offered defiantly.

Martin stepped back, afraid she'd make good on her threat. "You have nothing else to say to me?"

Ruthie's teeth were gritted. To Martin it looked like fury. For Ruthie it was only a means of holding back the tears. "You want me to say something to you?"

"Anything," he whispered.

"I hate you," she spat. "I can't believe that you'd have the nerve to show your face in _my_ family's home after what you did!" Ruthie opened the car door further and got in. She looked back up at Martin and said, "You look like hell", before she drove off.


End file.
